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Sunday, 27 November 2016

Spotlight - Satire and Connectivity

This month Spotlight takes
a look at satirical and connective art.As nights draw in, in the autumn of a year in which it can sometimes
seem that a shared planet and species is not enough to hold us together, the
joy and connectivity of the arts can feel ever more precious.Satirical art, like other media, can either
focus on our differences, or on what makes us alike, and what we share – like
Art Societies within a broader society.

Pawel Kuczynski, a
contemporary Polish satirical artist, combines political observation and
comment with common themes… such as the conundrums of adulthood and growth, as
in the image below of a girl in bigger shoes

...and in this image of a
sun on clouds, suggestive of balances between positive and dark thoughts and
experiences.

As Pawel says simply, “I
believe in people.. even when we do stupid things sometimes.”

Kuczynski rarely gives a
title to his paintings.They perhaps
convey thoughts better than 999 words could.(It is said that a thousand words is enough to convey a picture - or
the other way round.)

There is, of course, a
wide range of satirical art, from newspaper cartoons to subtle messages in
works by artists who are considered as great masters, such as Dali’s civil war
paintings, and Holbein’s “The Ambassadors”.

Uniting us are works such
as Paula Rego’s social painting “The Dance”, conveying the joy and purpose, and
comfort of togetherness throughout our dance of life.